Omaha daily bee., 1887-09-01


pots, bot none perhaps as wonderful as
the celebrated group In the upper basin
of the park.
THE BIG HORN SPRINGS.
IL the Big Horn river were to be fol-
lowed through the mountains from
whence it takes its name, tracing it for
miles along the mighty chasm rent by
nature to where the famous stream has
its origin in the Wind mountains, some
astonishing and remarkable sights would
be the reward of the venturesome ex.
porer. The hot springs of the Big Horn
would fully repay one for the toll and
trouble of making the dangerous Jour
ney' These freaks of nature are situated
on both banks of the Big Horn river,
number some thirty odd or more, and
the steam and vapor rising from them
can be seen for scores of miles IN every
direction. One is huge bowl.shaped
caldrOn that keeps forever churning a
mass of volet.hued steaming hot mud;
another spurts up q double stream in jets
every few minutes, while a great many
others are called "blind springs" II all
the reports about these springs are true,
they have taken to vomiting forth human
bones OF late. A correspondent, writing
of them, says:
quite number OF these springs are
called IN local parlance, blind springs
that is they have for many years appar.
emily been checked with mud and re.
fuse as to entirely retard their action;
Every year, however, some of the blind
springs arouse themselves, burst the
mud bonds which binds them and de-
velop into active boilers. 1t is two of
these geysers, so long inactive, which
have lately sIgnalized their return to life
by the vomiting form of human remains
committed 70 their keeping by red
handed crime of the olden days. The
Winu canyon cuts through three noun
tain ranges-RattlesHake Owl and Big
Horn. In the savage gorges OF its vicin
ity tradition locates the headquarters
and hiding places of band of outlaw
road agents, who preyed upon the eml.
grants westward bound over the old
Bridger trail
"Countless robberes were committed
by this gang, and safe refuge always
awaited them IN the neighborhood of
Wind Canyon. The hot springs were
probably one of their favorte haunts, and
in the mud sealed springs of the group
victims to now appear and recall the
crimes OF the band and the memories of
the murdered
CEUR D'ALLNE LAKE.
1t is curious and strange fact that
over three times as much water flows
into C9ur c'Alene lake as is discharged
therefrom. Where all the water goes to
it is hard to say, unless there are subter-
ranean passages which conduct the
superuous fluid somewhere, or perhaps
the lake has a false bottom. Now,
there are two two or three things
TO wth be the considered abdSs fact in hoh connection
to some extent answer the problem. Over
on Snake river, many miles to the south,
where that wonderful and tortuous
stream rushes through the lava beds at II
spot where the cut banks or bluffs are
high and steep, a tremendous volume of
water gushes from cleft high up in the
basattic walls and leaps a cataract into
the torrent below. From a distance it
has the appearance of 4 stream pouring
from the gigantic hose nozzle of a fire
engine.
Where does it come from? There is no
river or stream other than the Snake in
the vicinity, and pernaDs it is an outlet
of Lake Occur d'Alene.
Near the lake. but over towards the
mountain range, are two wells dug by
men, but the well-diggers had to abandon
their labor before reaching water. The
volume of air that came up through the
bottom rendered further digging lmpossi-
bic. SO great was the force as to blow
the hats from the heads of the
workmen and almost freeze them
in the bagain, and even
now neither lamps nor candles
can be held over the openings of
either without at once being extinguished,
Ten miles above the persistent propect-
Ors sunk another we'll and actually struck
water, but so cold is the air within that
the water readily froze, and mass of ice
now covers the bottom.
BoTToMLEss HOLES.
At Three Forks, in Montana, a silver
mine has lately been opened, and very
strange phenomenon connected with 1t
is that Of a fissure cut into while working
the mine, which seems bottomless. Stones
thrown into it seem to fall, ana keep on
falling, without coming to an end. At
times gaseous stream issues from the
cavity, and drives workmen from the
mine. Tine deposits of ore made on the
walls by the stream are all sulphates.
Every once in awhile terrible rumbling
is heard below, but it passes or dies away
gradually, and can be heardheard reced-
ing far down into the bowelsof the earth
until lost in the distance.
To my mind the lava beds of Snake
River are about as wonderful and strange
as anything in nature to be found on the
known globe. Snake River itself Is re.
markable stream, but is made doubly IN =
teTcSLlnS lTOlll Iue nature Vi tle country
1t drains. and it's wonderful and tortuous
course through the tiercest and most rug
gud portion of the Rocky mountain cham
For two or three miles above
Shoshone Falls it flows through
immense chasms with walls
on either side hundreds of feet high then
coming to an island which cuts it in
twain, the dual rivers rush over a rocky
preclpice and fall into a rounded pool 175
feet below. Five miles below the river
again descends in a solid sheet 2l0 feet,
and then we come to one of the most re
markable sights ever to be seen by any
body. From the high bluffs on both
sides issue numerous great springs, the
waters of which fall over the rocks and
are lashed into sllvery streams of spray
in their descent. The first one of these
beauties pOurs over cliff shaped like the
arc of a circle, and falls over 200 feet. AS
seen from the opposite side of the river il
is magnificent spectacle. But the next
cascade eclipses the former one as the sun
does the moon. A small river pours out
of the bank and falls over the rocks IN
silvery streams of almost every conceiva
BILE shape and form. while the spaces be
tween are lined with green moss OIL
shrubs, presenting to the delighted spec
tator beautiful representation of an inn
mense grottO. r.